It is well known in the vehicle industry that certain rotary accessory devices are often used in connection with vehicle motors. Two such well known accessory devices are alternators and starter motors. Alternators are used in connection with an engine and are belt driven by the engine. Alternators have internal components, which when rotated supply electrical power to a vehicle and/or an engine. Alternators are typically removably but rigidly mounted via a bracket to the engine block or the chassis of the vehicle. In many cases, where a standard type of alternating mounting arrangement is used, the alternator has “ears” with holes that are mounted onto a post or belt attached to the vehicle. This permits pivoting of the alternator so that the alternator can be pivoted around the post against the belt tension in order to install and remove belts, and provide a suitable tension when the belt is installed.
Starter motors are electrical motors, which are typically removably but rigidly mounted to an engine or transmission casing. The starter motor has an electrically driven pinion gear extending from the starter motor that engages a component (typically gears on the flywheel of the engine) in order to be able to rotate the crank shaft of the engine to start it. There are a wide range of attachment mechanisms for attaching said starter motor.
It is often desirable to test alternators and/or starter motors at locations where they have been removed from the vehicle, e.g., on a test bench. For example, such testing may be desirable before installing a new alternator or new starter or may be desirable for removing an existing alternator or starter for testing.
When testing an alternator, it is desirable to attach a belt to a pulley of the alternator and drive the alternator belt with a motor. This situation requires both: (1) a way to securely but removably mount the alternator, and (2) a way to provide belt tensioning. It would be desirable to have an apparatus and method that is able to conveniently mount the alternator to the overall testing apparatus so that it can be quickly, conveniently, safely, and easily installed and/or removed with respect to the testing apparatus. It would also be desirable to have an apparatus and method that can quickly, conveniently, safely and easily provide tension to the belt that is used to drive the alternator via a motor associated with the testing apparatus.
When testing a starter motor, the starter motor is typically connected to a device that provides power in order to selectively operate the starter motor. In such a situation, it is desirable to be able to hold the starter motor in place in a conventional location during testing. Thus, it would be desirable to have a method and apparatus that can quickly, conveniently, safely and easily provide a mount for the starter motor in a testing apparatus.
Testing of starter motor can be time consuming if during the test, the starter motor becomes stuck. If the starter motor is stuck, it can lead to inaccurate results. Thus, it is desirable to have an apparatus and method of quickly test the starter motor and determine if it is stuck on.
Furthermore, conventional alternator and starter testers have been fairly complex in operation with limited safety features. This had been acceptable in the past due to the fact that most parts retailers employed skilled counter people and kept the test equipment behind the counters, away from the customers. As retailers have evolved into more of a merchandising customer-orientated retail environment, they have moved the test equipment to the front of the store so customers can interact with store personnel to test these components. The test is considered a service for the customers and efforts were needed to make the results easy to understand for the customer and provide a solution to the customer's problem. The skill level of the counter person has declined as well due to increased personnel turn over. This resulted in a need for a simplified, yet accurate system to be used. This may also include having a code reader so that the tester can be configured to run the proper test for the component being tested based on the bar code on the component.
Retailers and component rebuilders are faced with a high percentage of the components that are returned for warranty work, even though the components are actually working properly. This warranty problem can cost the industry millions of dollars each year. Thus, a need exists for an accurate and easy to use alternator and starter tester apparatus and method in order to accurately diagnose the problem.
New alternators are becoming more complex to test. In the past, alternators were very simple in the manner in which they were energized and regulated. As technology has evolved, the manner in which alternators are regulated has become more complex and diversified from manufacturer to manufacturer. Traditional test equipment has handled this technological evolution with complex and expensive methods.